Benghazi attack: State Department blamed
US: A long-awaited inquiry into a deadly militant attack on
the US mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi late Tuesday slammed State
Department security arrangements there as “grossly inadequate.” But the
months-long probe also found there had been “no immediate, specific”
intelligence of a threat against the mission, which was overrun on
September 11 by dozens of heavily armed militants who killed four
Americans.
“Systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at
senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a
Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and
grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place,” the damning
report said.
The Accountability Review Board (ARB) also concluded “there was no
protest prior to the attacks, which were unanticipated in their scale
and intensity.” The attacks, in which the consulate and a nearby safe
house were targeted, have become fiercely politicized, with Republicans
skewering the administration for security failings as well as a possible
cover-up over Al-Qaeda’s role.
The US envoy to the United Nations, Susan Rice, came under relentless
Republican fire for saying days after the assault that, according to the
best intelligence, it was triggered by a “spontaneous” protest outside
the mission.
Rice has since been forced to pull out of the running to replace US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who steps down early in 2013.
In the unclassified section of their report, the five-strong board
added they believed every effort had been made to rescue ambassador
Chris Stevens, who died in the attack -- the first US envoy killed on
duty in three decades.
Clinton said she accepted “every one” of the 29 recommendations made
by the ARB, which has spent the last three months investigating the
events.
She also said the State Department was working with the Pentagon to
“dispatch hundreds of additional Marine Security Guards to bolster our
posts” and was aiming to train up more diplomatic security personnel.
The report noted that the State Department budget accounts for only a
very small part of national spending, and warned “Congress must do its
part to meet this challenge and provide necessary resources to the State
Department to address security risks and meet mission imperatives.”
The inquiry “found a pervasive realization among personnel who served
in Benghazi that the Special Mission was not a high priority for
Washington,” the report said.
Repeated requests for additional support from embassy staff in both
Benghazi and the Libyan capital Tripoli had been ignored, the report
said.
AFP |